infatuation:
1. A foolish, unreasoning, or extravagant passion or attraction.2. An impulsive, irrational, often shallow and short-term romantic love ; Planned Parenthood define it as: ' Impulsive, usually short-lived, emotional and erotic attachment to another person .'. Steinberg refers to infatuated love as the emotion felt when there is passion in the absence of intimacy and commitment. Infatuation is also described as unripe love or a crush because it is usually shallow, short-lived, and based on superficial qualities such as sex-appeal and physical attractiveness; if it lasts long enough, it may ripen into genuine love . See love for synonyms.
QUOTES:
(1) Natalie Landauer (Marisa Berenson) to Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) about having been 'pounced' upon by Fritz in Cabaret (1972): ' Is this love or only infatuation of the body? '
(2) Dr. Harry Wolper (Peter O'Toole) answering a student and friend in Creator (1985):
-- Student: ' Harry, how did you know you were in-love , I mean with you and Lucy? How did you know it wasn't just infatuation? '
-- Harry: ' Scientifically of course, by using the Love Formula. (...) Add up the number of times that you think about the lady each day, substract from that total the number of times that you think about yourself each day. If the remainder is more lady and less yourself, then it's love .' Later he revises his theorem: ' Under other, more extreme, conditions, the love formula is replaced by Eisenberg's Uncertainty Principle: we can never know anything .'
(3) George Schneider (James Caan) to Jenny MacLaine (Marsha Mason) in Chapter Two (1979): 'It's infatuation that makes you stupid. It also makes you unable to walk .'
3. A love-affair that does not meet with family or local community or religious approval.
4. An object of extravagant, short-lived passion .
See Also: beguin, case of spoons, a, crush, Cupid's sting, have a crush on, heavy crush, infatuate, infatuation, mad pash, mash, mash-on, pash, pooch, puppy love, rave, secret sorrow, that certain gleam in one's eyes, that funny feeling, up one's butt
Quotes Containing infatuation:
Clifford Stern (Woody Allen), a married man , tells his niece Jenny (Jenny Nichols) about his infatuation with Holly Reed (Mia Farrow) in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989): ''My heart says one thing my head says another. It''s very hard to get your head and heart together in life . (...) In my case they''re not even friendly .''
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